At DMA 2013: Data-driven businesses add $156B to U.S. economy

Chicago—The data-driven marketing industry adds $156 billion to the U.S. economy and fuels more than 675,000 jobs, according to research announced today by the Direct Marketing Association at its annual conference and expo here.
According to the DMA study, “The Value of Data: Consequences for Insight, Innovation and Efficiency in the U.S. Economy,” 70% of the value of data-driven marketing depends on the ability of companies to exchange data. This helps small businesses in particular to compete effectively with big players, launching innovative publications and services fueled by ad revenue.
The study is intended to underscore the value of database marketing, and in particular to support DMA's opposition to government regulations of data collection and distribution for the purposes of marketing personalization.
“The study fills a significant gap in understanding about massive changes currently transforming the U.S. marketing and advertising industries, changes propelled by the growing quantity and variety of data available to businesses and consumers alike,” said Linda Woolley, DMA president-CEO.
According to the report, prospective changes proposed by Congress and under consideration by the Federal Trade Commission that would regulate the exchange of data would impact $110 billion in revenue to the U.S. economy and 478,000 jobs. Small businesses would be the biggest losers, the report concludes, by restricting their ability to use data to overcome barriers to entry, raise ad-supported revenue and identify new and niche markets to serve.
The DMA report is based on a study by John Deighton, a professor at Harvard Business School, and Peter A. Johnson, a business professor at Columbia University, who examined the activities of 650 companies in the data-driven marketing industry during 2013. The full 105-page report is available here.